If you’re anything like our family, AR Books have been a struggle from day one. I feel like I missed a memo at the beginning of Kindergarten orientation or something. All the sudden in the First Grade, my kids needed to find AR books, read them, and pass tests on them.
For the busy moms, scroll down for the quick and easy links to find AR Books on Amazon!
What are AR Books?
I quickly learned that AR Books stood for Accelerated Reader Books. The word “accelerated” is quite deceiving because it doesn’t have anything to do with ahead or behind, like I thought the name implied. It is just the level that each kid is on, individually.
The AR Books system uses ATOS and Lexile measures to evaluate each book and give it a level to match that of the right reader. Each book has a reading comprehension quiz online that the kids need to pass in order to get their AR points credit. If you’re not totally lost yet (because I totally am), feel free to read more about the technical details of these systems. I’m reassured to know that I don’t have to understand the system, I just have to know how to use it.
This system of giving levels and points to books is the one our school district happens to use. There are lots of other book grading systems that many students use around the country (here in the US). I would imagine there are even more international and global systems that other countries use as well. (Comment below with what book level/grading system your state/country uses.)
Where to find AR Books?
Our biggest challenge was (and still is) WHERE to find AR books. It seemed like there must be a magical stash of books somewhere, that were on a list, that I didn’t have. Come to find out, no, it is just ALL books that they have graded with their system. You can check to see if a book of interest is in their system. https://www.arbookfind.com/
There are over 180,000 books in the AR system. So it is easier to pick a book that your child wants to read, and then check to see if it is in the system. As you can imagine, this turns into a constant picking and checking LOOP that is never ending.
Libraries
Some great resources for AR Books are your school libraries and the local libraries. As I understand it, if your school uses the AR system, ALL books in the school library are in the AR system. I would imagine your local library probably has a system of tracking the AR system as well.
Even though my kids do frequent their school library, we still need a STASH of AR books. They are required to read (and pass the test) two AR books per week. We are still learning responsibility in our house (as I imagine is still true for most ten year olds??). So the books they pick from the library may not get read nor may not make it back to the library in a week’s time. Hence the need for a backup stash at the house.
How to Search for AR Books on Amazon?
As with most things that we need in a hurry, I look to Amazon. I found it overwhelming to understand what LEVEL my child should/could be reading. There are so many different systems and not everyone calls an AR book an AR book. Here is a great resource that shows the Reading Level Conversion Chart for different systems, all searchable on Amazon.
I quickly learned that both the “Step into Reading” and “I Can Read” series seemed to most often appear in the AR system. These are easily found on Amazon with access links to all reading levels below.
I found that my kids most of the time followed the reading level with the grade they were in. Every kid is different and every level includes different complexity of books, so I still had to find out (by trial and error) which ones worked best for my kids.
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AR Books Easy Amazon Links
Quick disclaimer, I have verified at least the first 10 on each of these links that they ARE on the AR Books system. Keep in mind that some of the newer movie books may not be in the system yet. Although, they usually end up there eventually. Also, be sure to search for the author or other parts of the title, if it doesn’t show up right away.
AR Book Stash
I hope the above lists help you build an AR stash. It is easiest to have a basket of AR books on hand and keep them separate from all the other books in the house. That way each kid can pick from the stash. I don’t know about your kids, but mine need to have lots of choices on any given day.
Comment below with what book grading system your school uses. What AR systems have you come up with in your house?
Share this post with a busy mom who could use a few EASY Amazon links for quick AR Books.
This is cool, I know a friend who asked about this and didn’t know about it. I will pass this to her. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Fransic! Hope it’s helpful!
This is interesting and for sure these AR books will be useful for parents with kids.
Nice article, some great tips
Thank you for sharing this, I didn’t know there was a name for these sorts of books. But I’m glad I came across this post, because we’ve just finished reading through the book “Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons” and by the end of it he was excited to pick up a book and start reading on his own without my help. Only to find I didn’t have a stash of AR books to hand. I wish I had them prepared so he can feel confident moving through the different levels. So I’ve now got your list to work through and select which titles I think might appeal to him. This is great! Thank you for making this an easier task for me. I know the Nat Geo books he’ll love!
Awesome tips! Thank you for sharing.